Lockland man guilty of possessing Uzi-like automatic gun, silencer

Buddy Struckman listens to the verdicts Thursday in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court as a jury said he was guilty of possessing an automatic weapon and silencer.(Photo: Enquirer/Kevin Grasha)Buy Photo

Buddy Struckman tried to convince a Hamilton County jury that a fully automatic, Uzi-like gun and a companion silencer found in his home weren’t his.

Jurors on Thursday, after deliberating over two days, found Struckman guilty of charges that could send him to prison for up to eight years.

The case was unusual, first because of the silencer and automatic weapon. And Struckman, who said he has a bachelor's degree in information systems security, represented himself.

There was an awkward moment after the visiting judge handling the case, Guy Guckenberger, announced the verdicts. Struckman asked, “Would I be permitted to question the jury?”

It’s something defense attorneys, as well as prosecutors, try to do after a verdict.

After some discussion, Guckenberger told him the jurors would decide if they wanted to talk to him.

It didn’t happen. Guckenberger ultimately revoked Struckman’s bond, and a deputy led Struckman from the courtroom to the county jail. Officials responsible for checking on him apparently hadn’t been able to reach him by phone after his electronic monitoring unit stopped working Tuesday.

Sentencing is set for May 17 in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court. Guckenberger told Struckman before the trial that he faced up to 14 years in prison, but after researching the law the judge said Thursday it was eight years.

The charges date back to April 20, 2015.

Struckman barricaded himself inside a home on Maple Street in Lockland that day, after police went there to investigate a report of gunshots in the area.

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At left, house at 622 Maple St. in Lockland. Police say Buddy Struckman barricaded himself inside on April 20, 2015.(Photo: Enquirer file)

After a several-hour standoff, police found a MAC-10 “machine pistol,” silencer and more than 600 rounds of ammunition inside the home. A MAC-10, which resembles an Uzi, can fire 1,100 rounds per minute, according to testimony.

The gun and silencer – described as likely being homemade – were found inside a locked safe, along with several high-capacity magazines. Police also found .45-caliber ammunition throughout the home.

Struckman will have to forfeit the gun, silencer and ammunition.

He told Guckenberger: “The items never belonged to me, Your Honor. I never knew anything about them.”

Struckman claims to have few, if any, assets. In a financial affidavit, he listed himself as unemployed with no assets. He says he has $90,000 in student loan debt. He said his bachelor’s degree is from the University of Phoenix.

For the sentencing, Struckman will be represented by an attorney who served as an adviser throughout the trial. The attorney, Craig Newburger, was the eighth appointed to represent him. He withdrew as Struckman’s attorney before jury selection last week, because the two didn’t agree about trial strategy.